Cairo: Part 3

According to the OECD (2010), Egypt has now achieved 100% coverage of clean drinking water. Whilst this may be true, drinking water is most accessible to those in affluent areas. Those in the slums (ashwa’iyyat) however, tend to have to travel further. Women and girls in particular are burdened with the traditional duty to fetch and carry water from clean water sources. This has led to chronic back and spinal problems (Gharzeddine, 2007). For practicality purposes, the females of the households may sometimes choose to fetch water from closer sources, which may be unreliable. The OECD (2010) however, does acknowledge that wastewater services only have a 55% coverage throughout Egypt. Organisations such as the National Organisation for Potable Water and Sewage Drainage, plans, designs and constructs municipal water purification plants. Operations and maintenance services are delegated to public/private companies, authorities and governorates. Public and private partnerships have been formed to develop the water and sanitation systems of Cairo and projects, such as the New Cairo Wastewater Treatment Plant, have been effective.

Ahmed and Ashour (2009) however, claim that the Cairo Water Authority has 13 water treatment plants throughout the city. Although a majority of the population receive potable water through individual linkages to their home, many apartments and other housing complexes do not actually have individual connection to each residence, due to lack of indoor plumbing. Poorer areas often have access to communal taps, however long queues tend to accumulate. In extremely poor areas, which in fact do not have feasible, practical access to even communal taps, the residents tend to be coerced into buying unsafe water at high prices. It is also stipulated that daily water usage exceeds the capacity of the sewage system, giving rise to ‘standing pools of raw sewage in the streets and in the water table’. The deterioration of water and sanitation quality in Cairo is partially attributed to increasing strain from population growth. As well as the emergence of slums, a more formal proactive approach, has been to create additional areas such as ‘New Cairo’ to support the surplus population.  

Ultimately, more is being done to treat the water and sanitation crisis in Cairo. However, due to a lack of infrastructure, the poorest are not reaping the benefits from improvements to the water and sanitation system. Additionally, the wastewater and sewage system are not as developed as the water distribution system. Compounded with leaky pipes, these variables lead to an increasingly more polluted Nile, and in turn, pollutes Cairo’s water supply. However, Cairo and Lagos are not the only cities in Africa that face these various problems of inequality in water and sanitation distribution. Next post will aim to provide additional evidence that unequal distribution of water and sanitation is rife throughout Africa, and is further exacerbated by exponentially increasing populations.

Cairo: Part 2

Cairo, much like the rest of Egypt, relies on the 1,600km of the Nile that flows through the country, for their water supply. Showers (2002) posits that Cairo is plagued with declining freshwater supply due to continuous discharge of agricultural discharges and untreated human sewage. This problem is further exacerbated as megacities industrialise and industrial chemical dumping becomes a regular affair. Showers also asserts that 60% of domestic waste remains untreated and is disposed of in the Nile River or is left in the streets of slums. Laws against dumping are of little effectiveness due to corruption. This is particularly the case in Cairo, where a lot of garbage ends up in slums like Manshiyat Naser, and the Zabbaleen (garbage people) inhabitants are partial to taking bribes (Elliot 2011).

The Nile however, is also affected from pollution further upstream in countries such as Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Eritrea and the Democratic Republic of Congo, some of which face extreme political and business corruption. Myllylä (1995) extrapolates that approximately 1,500 villages discharge their waste into the Nile further upstream. It was also estimated that 35 factories discharged 125 million m³ of industrial untreated wastewater in 1995… Imagine the figure after 20 years of industrialisation! 

Consequently, the Nile is facing increased pollution, which has given rise to water-borne diseases such as typhoid, parasitic diseases and bacterial diarrhoea. Whilst affluent areas of Cairo can afford clean, filtered water, that is not still subject to untreated sewage, slum and settlements cannot. This leads to death as a result of these diseases and financial inability for healthcare or water and sewage treatment systems. Other diseases include schistomiasis (from a parasite), which can lead to cancer and death.

Furthermore Alpeyrie (2013) also adds that in some cases, potable water from slums are actually diverted to wealthier areas of Cairo, who will pay more for it and are perhaps deemed more worthy as they contribute more to the economy, through higher human capital and employment in the formal sector.

However, there have been efforts to improve the water and sanitation system in Cairo. USAID (2015) invested $727 million from 1984-2006 to improve wastewater collection, treatment and disposal on Cairo’s West Bank. Leaking sewers and methods of irrigation on the water table created high saline levels and groundwater contamination. This led to structural instability of buildings and historic monuments. USAID lowered the groundwater tables and implemented upgraded sewerage systems.

Cairo: Part 1

Cairo or al-Qāhirah is Africa’s largest city in terms of landmass. It is in the North-East of Egypt and is home to over 10 million people. Population is approximate as the next census is due to be carried out this year. However, the last census of 2006 stated that the population was 7,771,617 and using the annual population growth rates of Egypt, Cairo is estimated to have a population of 9.3 million (UNdata, 2014). However, population growth rates of Cairo are likely to be higher than Egypt, leading the World Population Review (2015) to estimate population at approximately 12 million.

As (Singaby, 2011) notes, like most megacities, Cairo has two faces. Singaby also draws on a study by the UN, revealing that 25-53% of Cairo’s inhabitants live in slums. As the city’s population began expanding exponentially in the 1960s, slums began to develop for those that could not afford housing in the affluent wards of the city. Singaby also exemplifies the inequality of Cairo in figure 1 below:

Examples of affluent areas include complexes such as ‘Nile City’, which receive a lot of investment. Sabry (2009) stipulates that the Cairo governorate hosts 81 slums, also referred to the ashwa'iyyat. Although Greater Cairo covers four other districts in Egypt as well, the ashwa'iyyat of Greater Cairo were thought to hold a population of 8.3 million people in 2000. The slums of Cairo, which are home to millions of people, include Ramlet Boulaq, Ezbet El Haggana and Manshiyat Naser (McGrath 2013; Elshamy 2012). Manshiyat Naser has in fact become known as Cairo’s ‘Garbage City’ and has no sewage system and water is riddled with pollution (Alpeyrie, 2013). Families in this particular slum, mostly work in the informal sector and black market of garbage collectors. The economy is not thriving and many can still not afford adequate water and sanitation systems. David Sims asserts that there are four types of slums within Cairo:

• Type A: Informal settlements on former agricultural land

• Type B: Informal settlements on former desert state land

• Type C: Deteriorated historic core

• Type D: Deteriorated urban pockets

The map below shows the distribution of each type (exc. Type D) within Cairo, exemplifying just how poverty-stricken areas of Cairo are:

The map excludes Type D settlements, as they cannot be delineated due to their very small size. Although these are arguably the most affected victims of the economic water crisis, the aim of the map here, is to simply show the unequal distribution of wealth and resources within Cairo.

Next post will address the inequalities of the water and sanitation supply within Cairo.

Lagos: Part 3

A lot of water is lost from direct groundwater and lagoon sources through leaking and illegal use (particularly in slums) in Lagos today. Coupled with the rapidly increasing population, and the low quality of water due to contamination from a lack of a sewage treatment system, the water supply is simply inadequate. UNICEF (1995) estimated that only 85% of households have access to safe water. Whilst this figure has significantly increased, water is a basic provision and 15% of the population in Lagos do not have access to it. Aina et al. (1994) estimated that 11% of the population had to walk over a kilometre to get water.

Harday et al. (2001) estimate that only 216,000 m³ of water is treated. Demand however, requires much more than this. The rich often have access to potable, treated drinking water; it is the poor that suffer. Slum residents and the urban poor of Lagos tend to have to buy water at prices with approximately a 400%-1000% mark-up on piped water supplies. Furthermore, slum settlements tend to emerge in areas which are the most prone to flooding. Combined with inadequate sewage treatment systems, sewage tends to flood the streets in slums, increasing the likelihood of disease and death to residents.

Kuvaja (2001) estimated that the infrastructural capacity of Lagos could fulfil needs of a maximum of 300,000 people. The population has however been approximated to be 70 times this.

In 1995, the UN estimated only a small percentage of wastewater was treated.  The only implemented sewage system is in the first commercial metropolitan area of Lagos: Victoria Island. Victoria Island even homes a Porsche showroom (McTernan, 2012)! Those that live in this area are obviously wealthy with assets such as land, cars and houses, thus once again illustrating the ignored needs of the poor. Sewage in less affluent areas of Lagos, tend to be disposed of by the drainage of rainwater through open ditches.

As the population continues to develop, so does the economy and its industries. Contamination of water sources originate from breweries, food industries, chemical industries, solid wastes from houses, sawmills and domestic sewage. Lagos also has major frequent floods, which sometimes carry sewage and industrial waste to groundwater sources. Piped water is also sometimes contaminated due to lack of effective treatment. Aina et al. (1994) asserts that Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Streptococcus and Bacillus are normal contaminants of piped water. These impurities lead to diarrhoea, guinea worm, cholera and typhoid. Malaria is also a huge issue in Lagos (Gandy, 2014)

More recently, the water sector has attempted to be privatised and certain schemes have been proposed and rejected. Fox (2013) posits that Lagos suffers from acute water infrastructure deficiencies. Municipal attempts to extend services have frequently been met by intimidation and outright sabotage by the informal providers who profit from the lack of water infrastructure in underserved areas (Gandy, 2006).

Parts of Lagos, such as Oshodi, have an improving water and sanitation situation due to development and projects to monitor variables such as refuse. However, new projects are giving rise to the demolition of homes, pushing people into slums and less affluent areas, which do not benefit from the projects. There are still entire sections of the city, which have been left behind, such as Ajegunle and Apapa. Whilst areas such as Oshodi and Victoria Island, continue to develop and leave behind the water and sanitation crisis with new projects, slum areas are increasing in Lagos and the water and sanitation is beginning to deteriorate once again (Ogunlesi, 2013). 

Unfortunately there is not much recent literature (within the past 5 years) at my disposal to tell you the current situation in Lagos and where it looks like it’s heading. However, from what is available, it is evident that inequalities are widening as metropolitan commercial areas continue to develop and give rise to the creation of more slums, which have deteriorating water and sanitation conditions.

Next stop… Cairo!!!

Aina T., Florence E., Cyril O. ( 1994 ). The Search For Sustainable Urban Development in Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria. In: Third World Planning Review 

Harday J., Mitlin D., Satterthwaite P.( 2001 ). Environmental Problems in the Home, Workplace and Neighbourhood. In: Environmental Problems in An Urbanizing World. Earthscan, London. p.37-113.

Kuvaja K.(2001). Low-income Housing in Lagos. In: Järvelä M., Korpela M., Kuvaja K. ( 2001 ): African Flows, Environment, Health and Information Activities for Communities in Africa. University Printing House, Jyväskylä.

UNICEF ( 1995 ). Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey. Unicef, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

United Nations ( UN ) ( 1995 ). The Challenge of Urbanization: The world’s large cities, United Nations Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis Population Division, New York.

Lagos: Part 2

In 2006, Matthew Gandy wrote somewhat of an exposé on Lagos. Whilst there are significantly more developed regions of Lagos, the majority of it is riddled with quality of life deterioration as population continues to grow uncontrollably. Roads are increasingly more congested, and refuse collections are becoming increasingly less regular. Crime festers in the streets, much like the sewage, with a practically non-existent sewage network. At least 66% of childhood infections and diseases are due to lack of access to potable water. Lagos’ crisis truly began with its rapid urbanisation and population growth. Municipal authorities lacked institutional mechanisms and administrative capacity to cope with the city’s rapidly growing needs, which included provision of basic services such as housing quality and sanitation. This led to the rise of slums and pollution of water supplies. 

The Nigerian state also had very little technical and administrative expertise available to them. For example, in the mid-1960s, Williams and Walsh (1968) reported that there was only one skilled engineer in charge of the city’s whole water distribution system. Due to the low investment into water and sanitation infrastructure, only 10% of households were directly connected to the municipal water system. The remainder of the city relied on shared taps, stand- pipes, wells and polluted creeks. It is evident that the biggest limitation to the development of the water and sanitation is funding. This has led to huge disparities in the cost and availability of drinking water. As the price of water increases, Lagos faces an increasing economic water crisis, in which the affordability of water and sanitation is at the crux of the problem. Whilst the high-income areas had a plentiful water supply, the lower income areas considered themselves to be fortunate if they had standpipes. With regards to the sewage system, it was barely functional. 

Gandy (2006) also provides us with some striking images of the refuse and water conditions in 2003:

The second picture, marked ‘figure 4’, illustrates the extent of the water crisis in less affluent areas, such as the slum Ajegunle, where water is in such higher demand, yet such low abundance, that it is sold illegally. Slumlords capitalise on the poverty and desperation of slum inhabitants, charging extortionate prices for water.

The suggested panacea for the water provision issue in Lagos is privatisation of the water supply. However, the economic and social reality is such that the urban poor can simply not afford it. This is causing a widening of the development gap and indeed inequality in Lagos; the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, trapped in poverty. Nigeria has now transitioned to an oil exporting economy. However, the rich own all the valuable land and thus are the only ones who profit from this transition. 

Though the information in this post revolves around the situation almost 50 years ago, it is still very much relevant today. The situation has improved substantially, however, in some areas this is still the case. The pictures taken by Matthew Gandy illustrate that whilst the issues began 50 years ago, they are still very much prominent roughly 40 years on. In particular, the inequalities that have been increasing for the past half a century, still continue to widen. Next post, I will focus on the current water and sanitation crisis in Lagos, which is mostly driven by the socio-economic conditions of the poor and continues to demonstrate the widening inequalities.

Lagos: Part 1

In the following blogs I will be discussing the Water and Sanitation Crisis in Africa’s biggest Megacities: Lagos and Cairo.

Lagos is on the South West coast of Nigeria and is home to one of the busiest and largest ports in Africa. The port and its exponential population growth has allowed it to prosper into one of the wealthiest African cities, in terms of GDP.

In 2006, the Nigerian Census (National Population Commission, Nigeria 2006) measured population at 9,113,605. However, it must be noted that the Nigerian Census is not highly regarded as population is closely related to the allocation of central government resources so states tend to exaggerate (Potts, 2012). The same is the case for the National Bureau of Statistics, who estimate Lagos’ 2015 population at 21,324,000, giving an estimated population density of 18,205/km². However, the UN estimated the population to be at over 17 million in 2015 (Gandy, 2006). Nonetheless, this population growth puts an immense strain on basic resources such as water and sanitation.

Whilst Lagos is a very wealthy African city, the wealth is distributed between millions of people, approximating per capita GDP at $5,573 (Canback Global Income Distribution Database, 2008). GDP figures also do not account for inequalities. Due to the sheer population size, many people are pushed into lower living standards, such as slums. Whilst the wealthy parts of Lagos have some water and sanitation systems implemented, the slums of Lagos are not so fortunate. Achebe (1960) describes Lagos as a twin city: one of electric lights, smartly dressed women and high-life music, the other of gloomy slums.

Upon reviewing some of the data from previous posts, I have found some examples of the inequality within Lagos. Domestic waste management was found to be treated by ineffective plants and disposed of in coastal lagoons. This has led to water pollution concerns in coastal lagoons and groundwater sources which are still contaminated with untreated effluents (including industrial waste). In particular, there has been a noted increase in levels of nitrates and other contaminants in groundwater (Showers, 2002). It has also been shown that a majority of the water supply in Lagos comes from groundwater and the Ogun River, a waterway which discharges into the Lagos Lagoon.

Africa's Megacities

The water and sanitation crisis in urban Africa seems to be exacerbated within its megacities. What is a megacity, you ask? Well, according to the United Nations, a megacity can be defined as a metropolitan area with a population in excess of 10 million people. However, the definition of a megacity does vary depending on the source used; some may include minimum population densities (e.g. 2000 people/km²) (Makinde, 2012). For the purpose of this blog, we’ll use the UN definition of 10 million people +.

The two major megacities of Africa are:

• Lagos, Nigeria
• Cairo, Egypt

Other recognised rapidly growing megacities in Africa include:

• Accra, Ghana
• Brazzaville/Kinshasa, Congo/DRC
• Dakar, Senegal
• Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
• Johannesburg/Pretoria, South Africa
• Khartoum, Sudan
• Luanda, Angola
• Maputo, Mozambique
• Mombasa, Kenya
• Nairobi, Kenya 

To my dismay, I have found that tracking down an accurate current population figure for these cities are no small feat! Depending on the source, population data may be exaggerated or subdued. As there are so many people, living in such a range of conditions, even the accuracy of census data is questionable. Fertility and death rates are also so high and variable, that it is almost impossible to keep track of! However, should you not succeed, try, try and try again. According to the World Population Review (WPR), in 2014, Cairo’s population was approximately 12 million. Lagos’ population was estimated to be at an astonishing 21 million in 2014 (WPR, 2015). For now, I want to focus on the water and sanitation crisis in these two cities, as they are Africa’s biggest megacities.

Resources such as potable water and sanitation and waste systems are by no means of any abundance in urban Africa. Whilst megacities tend to be the wealthiest in terms of GNP, they also have an incredible demand to satisfy; as population rises, so does demand, leading to a strain on resources such as water and sanitation. Thus, in many areas of megacities, there are slums, which shelter the excess people that the city cannot. There are also very affluent areas of megacities, which provide excellent water and sanitation services. Over the next posts, I aim to look at the exact causes of the water and sanitation crisis in Lagos and Cairo, and the most impacted areas, hopefully to reveal the incredible inequality within these urban African megacities.

Urban Africa's Sanitation Crisis

More often than not, the poor quality of water in Africa can be attributed to either sanitation or waste management (including that of companies).

Last post I explored an article written by Kate Showers on the quality and quantity of water supply in Urban Africa. Today I would like to focus more on the quality of water. The table below from Showers (2002) shows the domestic waste management in some Urban African areas.

As you can see, most of the urban areas shown have few sewage treatment plants. Latrines are mostly used for household sanitation with the expectation that the surrounding soil will purify it. Some few households use septic systems and even fewer use water-borne sanitation. According to Showers, in 2002, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe were the only African countries to have treatment for industrial waste such as, acids, chemicals and heavy metals. Most sewage, treated/untreated end up in streams or oceans. This gives rise to the pollution of groundwater, streams and coastal regions.

The main source of contamination of key groundwater sources includes latrines, soils, climates, and industrial and mining waste leading to increased levels of nitrates and leachates. Due to this, streams can become so polluted that they cannot be used as potable water sources; this is the case in Addis Abba. Industrial waste in the Peleng River near Lobatse contributed to the Nairobi River being described as an open sewer. Furthermore, contamination of the lower River Nile, has led to a decline in freshwater availability in Cairo (Myllala, 1995) and Alexandria, thus contributing to the water crisis in such locations. These are just a few examples of the extent of water contamination in Urban Africa that can be attributed to sanitation and waste treatment. More examples can be seen in the figure below (Showers, 2002), which also appeared in my last post:

More often than not, people do not have a full understanding of the extent to which sanitation and waste treatment affects the water supply. Water must be clean to be considered as part of the potable water supply! Sanitation is integral to the water supply and it is for this reason that we study the water and sanitation crisis in tandem. Next post we will begin to hone further in on the focus of my blog: Megacities!!!

Urban Africa's Water Crisis

Showers (2002) asserts that much of Urban Africa confronts or will confront water scarcity. She reviews literature of the last decade on the topic of Urban Africa’s water supply, claiming that most theories are centred around water pricing, distribution and sanitation infrastructure. More recently, the debate has been on the origins of increased fresh water, how and where it should be disposed of, and implications of both for rural landscapes and for urban planning and policy.
Before continuing with the subject of water in Urban Africa, let’s just define ‘Urban Africa’. An urban area refers to a city’s major population centres; in Africa, this can vary from district capitals to megacities due to vast variations in population across the continent.

Okay, back to business… where does urban African water come from? The UN (1973; cited in Showers, 2002) claim that in the early 70s, the primary source of water was ground water through springs, boreholes and wells. In the 1990s, urban areas began to collect water through construction of barrages, dams and reservoirs. Thus it can be seen, that more recently, both surface water and groundwater is used as a water source in Africa. Showers (2002) shows the changes in urban water sources between the 1970s and 1990s in the table below.

So what happens after the water is used. Well, it either goes through domestic and industrial waste management systems or it undergoes aquatic consequences (Abiodun, 1997 ; cited in Rakodi, 1997). In the next post, I will discuss sanitation and waste management systems. However, for now, I will leave you with another table of the astonishing quality of water in Urban Africa, provided by Showers (2002).

Indicators of National Water Scarcity

Meadows et al., posit that scarcity is merely a function of two things: demand and availability. Thus, only these two direct factors can be influenced to alter national scarcity levels. Meadows takes a neo-Malthusian standpoint on the water crisis and uses population growth as an indicator of national water scarcity. Under the assumption of fixed resource availability and demand increase as a function of population growth, she uses renewable water resources per capita as an indicator of national scarcity. Due to the underlying assumptions, water scarcity can only be deemed ‘worse’ if there is a larger populations needs to satisfy. However, the key criticisms here derive from the underlying, unrealistic assumption of fixed resource availability. Some countries may have a higher capacity to cope with water scarcity than others e.g. through imports (virtual water).

Through figure 1 (above), Konar and Caylor illustrate the virtual water trading links in Africa. They also demonstrate the negative correlation between the proportion of African nations undernourished and virtual water trade openness, in the graph below.

If we now assess the UNEP map of global water scarcity distribution (below), we can see that the countries facing water scarcity in Africa include: Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Malawi, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe. 

 When comparing this distribution map with Konar and Caylor’s representation of virtual water trading, we can see that most countries importing the most water are also under conditions of water scarcity. These countries include: Algeria, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Libya, and Kenya. South Africa however, exports more water than it imports and is facing water scarcity; we will look at reasons for this in later posts.

There are also some more complex indicators of national scarcity that are used. These may be weighted indicators such as Ohlsson’s, which is a combination of the water scarcity index and the human development index. Ohlsson’s index accounts for capacity to adapt to increasing national water scarcity however, it measures this through proxy indicators, as opposed to direct links.

Sullivan proposes a water poverty index, in which she captures water availability, access to water and sanitation, and time/effort used to access water for domestic usage.

Feitelson and Chenoweth suggest an economic water scarcity index, assessing the cost of sustaining of supplying a nations’ clean, viable water and sanitation services against the backdrop of the nations income. This allows the evaluation of whether a nation can afford to have sustainable water and sanitation services. Some countries may have little or no direct access to water, but if they can sustainably afford to import their water and sanitation supply, they will escape water scarcity.  This index however, relies on the collation of a lot of data, which may not be accessible, especially for poorer nations.

In theory, virtual water trading should be lowering water scarcity as nations share water resources. However, this is not the case, mainly because countries cannot afford to import as much water as they need. The affordability of a populations’ basic needs of water and sanitation seems to be at the core of the water and sanitation crisis in Africa. This is the very reason I’m so interested in the economic water crisis. Arguably, this sheds an economic light on the scarcity paradigm. It implies that scarcity does translate into access. If a nation cannot afford access to water, it may be at risk of becoming water scarce. The affordability of access however, may depend on a number of factors. Conflict of transboundary waters and hydropolitics are just two factors, which may influence the cost of sustainable water and sanitation services.

The next posts will address this situation, specifically in urban Africa! I hope you’re finding this as interesting as I am, and please, feel free to comment with your opinion! I’d love to hear different opinions and arguments on the water and sanitation crisis!

Water and Sanitation: An Introduction

As Sean Fox illustrates with figure 1, thus far, the population has continued to grow at an exponential rate. In 1804, the population reached 1 billion. 211 years later, in July 2015, the population was estimated to be at 7.3 billion. The population has increased seven-fold since 1804. With this population explosion, came an exponential increase in the level of urbanisation. However, population growth, coupled with higher concentrations of populations in urban areas has combined to create a strain on resources. Supply of resources, including water and services such as sanitation are struggling to keep up with demand. This is how the water and sanitation crisis was born.

Falkenmark et al. (1989) described water scarcity as conditions such that, renewable freshwater resources are below 1000m³/person/year. Charles Vörösmarty et al. posit that water scarcity occurs when a ratio of estimated annual freshwater demand to availability exceeds 0.4.

Here, Jonathan Chenoweth illustrates the correlation between GDP per capita (PPP US$) and total renewable water resources for the year 2000. As shown, there tends to be a positive correlation; as GDP increases, so does total renewable water resources. The scarcity paradigm questions whether there is a direct link between water scarcity and access to water.

Chenoweth explores a plethora of parameters that influence whether scarcity translates into access. These factors may be physical, socio-economic or political. He concludes that socio-economic development is the primary determinant of a country’s ability to meet its population’s basic needs, not the natural environment.

As shown in figure 1, the detonation of the population bomb led to rapid urbanisation. It is for this reason that I have a particular interest in Africa’s urban environments, especially megacities. Chenoweth’s assertion has also inspired me to focus this blog around what is referred to as the ‘economic water crisis’. In the following posts, I will address these issues:

1. Indicators of national scarcity
2. The link between scarcity and access
3. The reality of the water and sanitation crisis in urban Africa
4. The distribution of water and sanitation resources within Africa’s megacities